Ukrainian econyms in saskatchewan: ethno- and sensory-linguistic aspects

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Ukrainian econyms in saskatchewan: ethno- and sensory-linguistic aspects

Українські ойконіми саскетчевану: етно- та сенсорнолінгвістичні аспекти

Kalynovska I.M.,

Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor at the Conversational English Department Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University

Koliada Е. К.,

Candidate of Philological Sciences, Professor, Professor, Head of the Conversational English Department Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University

Econyms as specific types of toponyms refer to the proper names of any inhabited settlement. They are known to contain information about the historical past of nations, the borders of their settlement, cultural, commercial, and geographical centers, etc. Place names can offer insights into the language of local people because most of them originated in descriptions assigned by settlers to specific villages, hills, fields, roads, etc., to which they needed to refer. Moreover, place names represent the sensory aspect of the landscape and they reflect the way it can be perceived by all five senses: sight, smelling, hearing, touch and taste.

Being an important part of linguistic data, place names reflect not only the history of people, but also their culture, lifestyle, daily environment, etc. The given article focuses on the study of Canadian toponyms of Ukrainian origin highlighting their ethno- and sensory-linguistic aspects.

The analysis reflects the important ethno- and sensory-linguistic characteristics of Saskatchewan econyms of Ukrainian origin. The peculiarities of toponym meaning are identified and explained. The sensory-linguistic aspects of Saskatchewan econyms may reflect changing human perception of the landscape, in other words a range of meanings are linked with physical features of the environment, namely geological, hydrological, floral, and socio-cultural ones.

The authors subdivide Ukrainian econyms of Saskatchewan into the following lexico-semantic groups: 1) settlements;

localities (location directions, districts); 3) rural communities, farms, lands, and roads; 4) schools, school districts, and institutes; 5) parks, churches, parishes, and cemeteries. econym toponym proper name

In perspective, attention should be focused on the comparative study of aboriginal, French, English, and Ukrainian toponyms that can be found in Canada.

Key words: toponym, econym, Canada, Ukrainian origin, ethnolinguistic aspect, sensory-linguistic aspect.

Ойконіми як певні види топонімів представляють назви будь-якого населеного пункту. Відомо, що вони містять інформацію про історичне минуле народів, межі їхнього розселення, культурні, торговельні, географічні центри тощо. Топоніми можуть давати уявлення про мову місцевих жителів, оскільки більшість з них виникла в описах сіл, пагорбів, полів, доріг тощо, куди потрібно було потрапити мешканцям. Більш того, топоніми представляють сенсорний аспект ландшафту, вони відображають спосіб його сприйняття всіма п'ятьма органами чуття: зором, нюхом, слухом, дотиком і смаком.

Як важлива частина лінгвістичних даних, топоніми відображають не тільки історію людей, але і їхню культуру, спосіб життя, повсякденне оточення тощо. Дана стаття присвячена вивченню канадських топонімів українського походження і висвітлює їхні етно- та сенсорнолінгвістичні аспекти.

Аналіз відображає важливі етно- та сенсорнолінгвістичні особливості ойконімів Саскетчевану українського походження. Визначено й описано особливості значення топонімів. Сенсорно-лінгвістичні аспекти ойконімів Саскетчевану можуть відображати зміну людського сприйняття ландшафту, іншими словами, ряд значень пов'язаних з фізичними особливостями навколишнього середовища, а саме геологічними, гідрологічними, флористичними, соціокультурними.

Автори статті розподіляють українські ойконіми Саскачевану на такі лексико-семантичні групи: 1) населені пункти; 2) локації (напрямки, райони); 3) сільські громади, фермерські господарства, землі, дороги; 4) школи, шкільні округи, інститути; 5) парки, церкви, парафії, кладовища.

У перспективі, слід звернути увагу на порівняльному вивченні топонімів аборигенів, французькі, англійські та українські топоніми, які розповсюджені в Канаді.

Ключові слова: топонім, ойконім, Канада, українське походження, етнолінгвістичний аспект, сенсорно-лінгвістичний аспект.

Problem statement. Toponyms known as place names or geographic names comprise information about nations, their settlements, historical development, and culture, etc. Generally, toponyms reflect changing human perception. “How a society names its surroundings exposes how people conceptualize their world: how landforms are distinguished, how people interact with the land, how land is owned or distributed, or how places or topographic features are important spiritually, politically, or historically” [7, p. 393]. Moreover, place names represent the sensory aspect of the landscape and as such it can be perceived by all five senses: sight, smelling, hearing, touch and taste. At the same time, toponyms evolve over time and their value changes.

In the view of this, the study of toponyms is vital and perspective, because place names can “comprise an important linguistic data; their usefulness is strongly tied to their relationship to morphology, semantics, and phonology of the language as a whole” [9, p. 5]. In fact, the role of toponyms in language typology is unique. “In a toponym is encoded a literal meaning, a lexified denotation, historical and folk etymologies, connotations, and physical properties of the place described” [7, p. 394].

Generally speaking, Canadian place names of Ukrainian origin often become the subject of discussion [2; 3; 4; 6; 10], therefore the issue of Ukrainian econyms of Saskatchewan requires special attention of scholars, which makes the given research relevant.

The goal of the article is to study Ukrainian econyms in Saskatchewan in ethno- and sensory- linguistic aspects. To achieve this goal it is necessary to solve a number of tasks: to describe the main features of Saskatchewan econyms; to analyze econyms in ethnolinguistic and sensory-linguistic aspects; to divide Saskatchewan econyms into lexico-semantic groups. The object of study is Saskatchewan econyms of Ukrainian origin, selected from the Dictionary of Canadian Place Names (1997), the World Heritage Encyclopedia (2002), and the Canadian Geographical Names Database [8].

Literature review. One of the main factors that determine the toponymic vocabulary of the Englishspeaking provinces of Canada is the interaction of aboriginal, French, English, and Ukrainian top- onyms that caused the formal and semantic changes in the regional English place names, and thus influenced the formation of the entire toponymic system in Canada. Watson Kirkonell states that “the block settlement of immigrants from central and eastern Europe in the Prairie Provinces resulted in creation of facsimiles of European communities that they left behind, many of which still bear Slavic names. Thus, there are scores of communities throughout the West such as Antonivka, Babyna, Chortitz, Dobrovody, Franko, Hryhoriv, Khutir, Oleskiw, Ukraina, Zbaraz, etc.” [5]. These block settlements which embrace not only the Ukrainian communities in Manitoba and Alberta, but in Saskatchewan and British Columbia resisted assimilation. Watson Kirkonell says that “the European-Canadian culture groups as such will probably have been completely digested in another country. But the Ukrainian place names persist” [5, p. 11].

J. Rudnycky, who dedicated a number of his works [3; 10; 11] to the study of Slavic place names, suggests that “side by side with Canadians of British, French, and other origin, the Slavs retain and cultivate their heritage, thereby contributing to the development of Canada's culture and its spiritual growth. Folk tales, folk etymologies, proverbs, sayings about the origin and meaning of Canadian place names, or what may be called Canadian Slavic namelore represent aspects of Canadian folklore” [10, p. 90]. The linguist was the first who introduced the detailed analysis and classification of Canadian toponyms of Ukrainian origin (the list includes more than 180 place names) [3; 11].

B. Bell thoroughly analyses Canadian toponyms of Ukrainian, German, Mennonite, Hutterite, and Doukhobor origin, taking into account aspects of their historical development, concepts of identity, cultural location, and traditions. The scholar writes that “the steppes of eastern Europe were the ancestral homeland for several groups whose desire to find a secure place to develop their agricultural ambitions, to practice their religion, and to live in peace with their neighbours led them to Saskatchewan” [4].

Research results. The initial Ukrainian immigration to Saskatchewan coincided with the great European migrations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Over 170,000 Ukrainians set out for Canada during the period 1891-1914 as part of the Canadian government's effort to recruit agriculturalists from east, central, and south Europe, originating primarily from western Ukraine (the former Austro- Hungarian lands of Galicia and Bukovyna) [13].

In Saskatchewan, “the first Ukrainian settlements were established in the Montmartre-Candiac area by 1895-1996, and in 1897 around Yorkton, notably in the districts of Beaver Hills, Crooked Lake, and Wroxton. Subsequently, other early settlements appeared in the districts of Fish Creek-Rosthern (1898) and Redberry Lake (1903), as well as in the Samburg district northeast of Prince Albert in 1906” [13].

The major centre of Ukrainian population in Saskatchewan is located in the area which stretches westward from the Manitoba border to Saskatoon, and includes the Yorkton-Canora, Prince Albert, and Regina regions. This area, known as the Parkland Belt, is where the first settlers to Saskatchewan located. However, the Ukrainians live in every city and town in Saskatchewan. In the late 1930's and early 1940's, there was a major migration of Ukrainian people from southern and central Saskatchewan areas such as Ituna, Sheho, Wakaw and Cudworth to the northern areas near present-day Nipawin, Melfort, Gronlid, Brooksby, Prince Albert, Meath Park, Weirdale, Smeaton, Choiceland, Hudson Bay and Carrot River [14]. According to the 2016 census, 13.4 per cent of Saskatchewan's population trace all or part of their ancestry to Ukraine. The Ukrainians are the sixth largest ethnic group in Saskatchewan (ninth in Canada) [12].

The analysis has shown that Ukrainian econyms in Saskatchewan primarily include the names of settlements, such as Bukowina (south ofYellow Creek), Rak (northeast of Vonda), Whitkow (west of Mayfair), etc. According to our previous research findings, several settlements located in different Canadian provinces may have the same names, i. e. there is Odessa in Saskatchewan and Ontario, then Halicz and Ukraina in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Some place names have received an additional description “new”, namely New Kyiv in Alberta, Novy Sokal in Alberta, New Yaroslau in Saskatchewan [1, p. 104].

“The Ukrainians who came to Saskatchewan came from a small area in the southwestern part of the country, sometimes called Ruthenia. /.../ In the mid-19th century, the Austro-Hungarian Empire designated the term Ruthenen as the official name for Ukrainians within that empire. /.../ Ruthenia consisted of three parts: Galicia, Bukovyna, and Transcarpathia. Very few people came to Saskatchewan from the latter, which was a part of Czechoslovakia between the world wars” [4, p.12].

B. Barry states that “many of the Ukrainian names in Saskatchewan are, in fact, German, brought by Mennonites, Roman Catholics, Lutherans and others” [4, p. 9]. It concerns as well the oldest place names in Canada, namely the newly created settlement in Manitoba registered as Ukraina [6]. Actually, there are two schools in Saskatchewan named for the country itself: Oukraina (west of Krydor), and Ukraina (south of Canora).

Additionally, the name Galicia (the modern Lviv, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts) is an Anglicization of Galizien, which is a German transliteration of the Ukrainian word Halychyna, meaning “the lands of Halych”, its one time capital, one of the principal religious and trading centres of Ukraine [4, p.14]. Two Saskatchewan schools were named for the town Halicz (1914-1960) northwest of Wishart, and Halech (from 1905) near Goodeve, and there is a Halicz cemetery north of Stenen.

The sensory-linguistic aspects of Saskatchewan econyms should be underlined, as they may reflect changing human perception of the landscape, in other words a range of meanings are linked with physical features of the environment, namely geological, hydrological, floral, and socio-cultural ones. For instance, the first Ukrainian settlers west of Alvena arrived in 1902 and established Laniwci, from Ukrainian Lanivtsi (a small place, north of Borshchiv), which comes from the Ukrainian word lan meaning “grainfield” and means “people of the grainfields”. Kaminka was at the hamlet of Tway and is from the Ukrainian for a “gravelly place”. The name may also commemorate Kamianka-Buzka (which was simply Kaminka until 1944) just northeast of Lviv [4, p. 18].

Hory (a locality southwest of Wakaw centring on the Ukrainian Catholic parish of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ) means “mountains”, and refers to the hilly church site; Skala (west of Cudworth) means “cliff in the low place”; Scalat (southeast of Canora) reflects a place where there are rocks or cliffs. Nevertheless, Podole (northeast of Prince Allien) and Podolia (northeast of Arran) have a common derivation and represent the lowlands of the historical-geographical region lying to the east and northeast of the Dnister River.

Furthermore, Dobrowody (a rural post office northeast of Rama in a mixed Polish/Ukrainian settlement) took its name after Dobryvody Ternopil oblast. The name means “good water”, while Stawchan (north of Rhein) was named after Stavchany in Lviv oblast, and means “of a pond”, and the name of the settlement Ozeranko (south of Prudhomme) may come from the Ukrainian for “a small lake”.

Saskatchewan econyms may reflect the names of the trees. For instance, Beresina (northeast of Churchbridge) or Bereziw (south of Hafford) means “birch forest”, whereas (north of MacNutt) correspond to “the area of willows”.

Subsequently, a number of Saskatchewan econyms honour historic Ukrainians. An excellent example is Mohyla Ukrainian Institute at Saskatoon, founded in 1916 as a non-sectarian residence for Ukrainian students attending educational institutions in the city, named after Petro Mohyla (1597-1647), the Ukrainian metropolitan who was a major figure in the history of Orthodoxy in Ukraine. Mohyla Institute was the original home of the Ukrainian Museum of Canada, now located on Spadina Crescent. Over the years the Institute has been actively involved in cultural pursuits, including the accumulation of a large library, as well as maintaining its residential function [4, p. 36].

One can find schools named after Taras Shevchenko, Ivan Franko in Canada, one in each of the Prairie Provinces [1], as well as Larisa after Larysa Kosach - Lesya Ukrainka (west of Wishart). Schools were also named after Hetman Ivan Mazeppa (southeast of Canora), Mykhailo Drahomanov (southeast of Prudhomme), Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko (near Insinger), etc.

Saskatchewan econyms include as well names of Ukrainian-Canadian pioneers unknown in Ukraine, although famous in Canada Ukrainians, for instance: Krydor (after early pioneers Petro Krysak and Teodor Lucyk), Joseph Oleskiw (writer), Peter Dmytruk (Sergeant in the Royal Canadian Air Force), Thomas Drobot (postmaster), Ivan Pidskalny (local patron), Dochylo (local family), etc.

Saskatchewan econyms can be represented by Ukrainian place names such as Prosvita (west of Mayfair), Svoboda (northwest of Alvena), Wolna (east of Rama), Zhoda (south of Mikado), Radimno (southeast of Willowbrook), which may have a deep social and ethnolinguistic meaning [2]. Having settled on their homesteads in Saskatchewan, the first Ukrainian immigrants were inspired by the thought of having gained the freedom they never had under the despotic Austro-Hungarian monarchy and Poland.

Eventually, we can subdivide Ukrainian econyms of Saskatchewan into the following lexico-semantic groups:

settlements: Krasne (a village west of Wishart), Rak (a settlement northeast of Vonda), New Yaroslau (Ukrainian block settlement northeast of Yorkton), etc.;

localities (location directions, districts): Antoniwka (a locality north of Canora), Buchach (a locality near Hazel Dell), Kulykiv (a locality north of Invermay), Kolo Solomyanoho (a locality west of Cudworth), etc.;

rural communities, farms, lands, and roads: Bobulinci (southeast of Rose Valley), Beresina (northeast of Churchbridge), Peter Krysak Farm (a farm near Krydor, Blaine Lake), Dochylo Road (at Christopher Lake), etc.;

schools, school districts, and institutes: Dnister School District (public school southeast of Canora), W. S. Hawrylak School (public elementary school in Regina), St. Petro Mohyla Institute (private college in Saskatoon), etc.;

parks, churches, parishes, and cemeteries: St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Park (a campground owned by the Saskatoon branch of the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood of Canada), St. John Boholav Krasne Church (Ukrainian Catholic Church), Krassna (a parish south of Leader), Halicz Cemetery (a cemetery north of Stenen), etc.

By all accounts, Saskatchewan econyms can be temporal and replaced by the other ones or disappear altogether. For example, the name Bereziw School District (south of Hafford) was changed into Slawa school; Dniester (northeast of Rhein) was renamed Hamton, etc.

Conclusions. To sum up, toponyms and econyms in particular, reflect important historical information about a place, such as settlement history, population dispersal, periods of language usage, etc. Information about the changing human perception and the sensory aspect of the landscape can be understood as well. Place names can also provide insight into linguistic changes in an area, the folklore, and social conditions of a place and so on. So, ethno- and sensory-linguistic information can also be found through toponyms.

The article research findings indicate the important national features of Ukrainian ethnic group in Canada, its culture and historical heritage represented in place names, which contribute to the development of Canada's culture and its spiritual growth.

The creation of toponyms reflects Ukrainian values and landscape perception, visible from the linguistic features of Saskatchewan econyms.

Consequently, the study of Saskatchewan place names of Ukrainian origin in ethno- and sensory- linguistic aspects is promising, as econyms reflect the important national features of Ukrainian ethnic group in Canada. In perspective, attention should be focused on the comparative study of aboriginal, French, English, and Ukrainian toponyms that influence the changing toponymic system in Canada.

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